Oklahoma City capped off their summer league with a 89-75 over the Utah Jazz. So, this was a week of learning and growth. While the Thunder won three straight to end the league, what exactly did we learn throughout this week. Well, this is what I learned, and I think it’s pretty accurate.
Reggie Jackson is going to be really good
I know, I know it’s just summer league. However, this kid has Russell Westbrook written all over him. Compare their first year at summer league:
Player |
Min |
PPG |
APG |
RPG |
STL |
TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reggie Jackson |
26.24 |
15.3 |
3.5 |
3.3 |
0.8 |
3.0 |
Russell Westbrook |
26.24 |
16.5 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
1.8 |
1.5 |
For the Most part, the numbers are pretty similiar. It’s so eerie the minutes they played. Jackson played 105:37, and Westbrook played 105:35. However, the way Jackson attacked the basket and ran the offense. Only real big flaw on Jackson’s end was his turnover percentage. He was more aggressive than we saw in the regular season, and that’s awesome. I really appreciate that he just wasn’t setting up for jump shots, and was aggressive.
The growth that we saw Jackson have this weekend really gave me confidence that if the Thunder organization decided not to bring back Eric Maynor, I might be comfortable enough with him at the back up in a season or two. I think he still has a lot of maturing to do, but this week was nothing but an A+ for him. It was capped off by this MONSTER dunk.
Cole Aldrich officially has me worried
Yeah, I said that. He was dominated by some sub-par centers, and traveled a lot. Set a lot of illegal screens. He missed two foot jumpers that should be money for a center. He just didn’t hack it in my opinion. It makes me really worried for the future of the center position for the Thunder.
That said, I’m cutting him some slack. The guy hasn’t played meaningful minutes since college. I don’t really count two or three games in Tulsa as meaningful minutes. Let’s get him into training camp, against some better opponents, and then into the league. There is a lot of raw talent here, I’m assuming. Right now, he looks like a bust. Let’s see him prove me wrong. I can’t wait for that day when I can write “You showed me Cole.” I don’t know if it’ll come though.
Perry Jones III is going to be the steal of the draft
Before PJ3 injured his ankle, he was just completely dominating. He looks strong, and was very efficient. I am okay with the fact that Oklahoma City executives and doctors held him out, great precautionary move. I think he’s going to be a viable back-up even though he won’t see too many minutes. If there is an injury, I think Oklahoma City will be in decent hands.
PJ3 has a huge motor and you can see there is a great will to learn the system. He was asking questions, adjusting on offense and was stellar on defense. I could type 1,000 words on how well he was this week. My negative remarks about him are that he didn’t shoot exceptionally well. He shot 43.5 percent from the field. I cannot wait to see this guy come in and learn from Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison.
Latavious Williams won’t see a Thunder Uniform
This guy is has the tools to be good. However, even the coach said it without actually saying it. “This guy has to keep his motor going every minute he’s on the court.” He’s not. He looks like he’s just out there, being awkward on offense. He looks lazy. He led the Thunder in rebounding, and 18 of his 27 rebounds were on the offensive end, but that doesn’t mean too much. He slipped in, because no one probably expects him to do too much. I had pretty high hopes for him, but doesn’t look good for this guy.
I think he heads back to Europe. I don’t think we’ll see him in camp because if he comes to camp, and the Thunder cut him, they lose their draft rights to him. So, I doubt we’ll see him in camp. I think it would be better off in Oklahoma City did invite him to camp, so they could shed his draft rights. They’re just wasting away right now.
Garrett Temple and Dwight Buycks are two diamonds in the rough
These two guys should catch a training camp somewhere, even if it’s in Oklahoma City. Temple played the most minutes in Oklahoma City this weekend. Buycks and Temple willed Oklahoma City to a victory when the main Thunder players rested up, and for that, I think they earned themselves at least a chance at NBA money. I actually would prefer Buycks to get a real shot at making the roster over a player like, Lazar Hayward or Daequan Cook.
Overall, a great week of learning for this team. Some players really shouldn’t see a Thunder uniform and if you follow me on twitter, you know exactly who I’m talking about, and that’s fine. I doubt he goes anywhere anyway. Oklahoma City coach Mark Bryant did a great job getting these boys together quickly and prepared enough to win ball games.
